The Bromance Book Club Review

 

    If anyone would have told me four months ago that I was going to read a romance novel during the summer my unequivocal response would have been, "Not a chance in hell." And if anyone would have added that I was even going to enjoy reading that book, I would have simply laughed out loud. You have to understand that I'm a Latin male, and as stereotypes go, we don't do the reading Romance novel thing.

    Well, the joke is clearly on me because reading the novel I did, and saying that I enjoyed it would be a major understatement. This novel made me laugh, care for the main characters, question my reading selections, and I will have to admit that I even got teary-eyed during that scene near the end where Gavin decides to walk off the plane to go after his wife and his friends go with him because is a special mission.   

    Let me be very clear, I highly recommend this book. To say the novel is a love story between the main characters Thea and Gavin would be accurate, but it is so much more. At the center of the plot is a story about friendship and how far will go for those who you care for. That is reflected in the actual Book Club which doesn't get its name till the very end, at the steps of the church during Gavin's and Thea's impromptu wedding. The story also deals with the complex topic of family issues, and how they impact the younger ones.  

    As a person that had never read a romance novel, and this one was my first, I can say that the appeal for me was that I immediately identified with the main character and his club. I could picture myself having a similar reaction to Gavin's when his friends suggested that he read romance novels to improve his relationship with his wife and to better understand women. Then the author added the secrecy to which the club operated, from something as silly as buying their pumpkin spice lattes to hiding their novels, all to maintain that macho image and to avoid judgment. It made the story funny, but it also made light of a long-debated issue in our society where supposedly men are not supposed to show emotions. As we saw through the book, not only did their marriage and relationship improve as Gavin became more open with his feelings, but he also felt better about himself.  

    I learned two main lessons while reading this novel. The first one is to not be afraid to tackle and expose my view on social issues or dilemmas that have been debated for a long time. In the case of The Bromance Book Club, the author dealt with the long-debated issue of men openly sharing their feelings. She did it in a refreshing way where our main character learned from making a connection to the main character in an old romance novel. By identifying with the main character, Gavin learns to deal away with his masculine toxicity, and focus more on his wife and kids. 

    The second lesson I learned while reading this book is that I will never again disregard a book due to its genre. This book happens to be the second one on the list of required readings for this course that I was completely surprised. The other book I had also avoided due to some preconceptions I had before reading. I may also add to the list the movie Legally Blond which I recently watched and which I had avoided for years, being one of my wife's favorites. I had simply denied myself hours of entertainment due to my made-up preconceptions. Never again!

    One of the things I enjoyed the most about reading this novel was the voice used by the author for the characters. Each character seemed very realistic and even well grounded on real-life examples. It is clear that she did her research on the background of each character to make sure they came across the page with as many flaws as possible, and that also included their voice, their mannerism, and the way they interacted with others. I especially enjoyed the scenes where she had the club members interact with each other.      

    This is a book that should appeal to such a broad audience. To start with, most romance genre fans would be pleased with this book. Interestingly enough, this is the one book they can also turn around and tell they're significant other, who has always refused to read a romance, oh but you will love this one. And if that significant other is a baseball fan, they can even sell it as: "Is about a baseball player with family issues," and they will read it. The appeal and marketability of this novel should be off the charts, which is why I wasn't surprised when I read that Netflix is producing a movie version that will come out in Summer 2023.